Bluesky is the Left's favorite playground

A place without Elon Musk. For some opinion leaders, this idea is so tempting that they leave behind a considerable number of followers and a considerable reach and move to the rival company Bluesky. All too often, however, the old account on the network formerly known as Twitter remains. You never know.

The news portal "Watson" sent a clear message at the beginning of the year when it announced that it would be leaving Musk's platform and posting exclusively on Bluesky. The Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) also switched to Bluesky, as did many universities and institutions such as the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Not everyone followed this move: Swiss Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter even joined Network X last year.

At the end of last year, several well-known Austrians publicly announced their "eXit" – a play on words about the exodus from X. Among them were the editor-in-chief of "Falter," Florian Klenk, and television presenter Armin Wolf. The reasons for their departures always sound familiar: too much "hate and incitement," too much Musk, too much Russian propaganda, too little decency, and too little moderation.

WDR presenter Georg Restle wrote on his X-account: "Stay here. As long as democratic debate is still possible. The oppressed still have voices. The unheard still get to be heard. Hate has not triumphed. Dissenting voices are needed. Here too. I'm staying. For now." That was two years ago. Restle is still an active user of the platform.

But despite all the moralizing, Platform X continues to grow. Since its acquisition by American tech billionaire Musk in the fall of 2022, the number of monthly active users has risen from around 370 million to 650 million in 2025. An exodus looks different. By the end of the year, the number could exceed the 700 million mark.

If X resembles a crowded supermarket at lunchtime, then Bluesky, with its 35 million monthly active users, is more like a small kiosk on the corner – manageable and with a loyal customer base.

Scrolling through the pages, you encounter many familiar voices of the digital age of opinion: ZDF presenter Dunja Hayali is there, as is her colleague Jan Böhmermann, the aforementioned journalist Florian Klenk, the German culture-war blog "Volksverpetzer," and former Zurich GLP politician Sanija Ameti. The latter made headlines when she posted a photo showing herself with a sports pistol—aimed at a picture of Mary and Jesus. The resulting outrage ultimately led to her resignation from the party.

Climate researchers, political scientists, and sociologists also frequent the network, enthusiastically welcomed by an even more left-leaning audience. Liberal, conservative, or even right-wing influencers and journalists were already lacking when the network was founded, and continue to be so today. Even journalist Armin Wolf complains: "There's still too little debate on Bluesky for me."

A typical Bluesky post reads as follows: "My theory: Jens Spahn is working with Julian Reichelt to one day form a coalition with Krah. Fueled by 'Nius,' but first Höcke must be kicked out of the AfD." This is the comment of Jean Peters, a staffer at the media outlet "Correctiv," who threw a cake at AfD politician Beatrix von Storch in 2016 and declared himself a member of Antifa.

CDU politician Spahn is allegedly making plans with the editor-in-chief of a right-wing conservative media outlet to one day form a coalition with AfD Bundestag member Maximilian Krah? Even within the AfD, Krah is viewed critically by some, among other things because he is pandering to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish community.

There is no disagreement with this post , but no agreement either. It's obvious that such a post on X would have been met with criticism, malice, and questions. The evidence for the thesis is rather flimsy. But on Bluesky, the idea falls on deaf ears.

So there's little to shock you on the platform, which is now almost indistinguishable from X in terms of design and functionality (if you ignore its premium features for paying users). It feels like driving through a 30 km/h zone. You won't be the first to hear breaking news or insider information here.

In this respect, Elon Musk's platform X has left all competitors behind. Whether it's October 7, the massacre in Syria, or the embarrassment of Donald Trump's advisors accidentally inviting the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic into a private chat: world events take place on X.

On Bluesky, on the other hand, you only find what Twitter once was: the preferred platform for left-wing discourse – preferably in an undisturbed circle.